The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a power plant and, more specifically, systems and methods for predicting and enhancing startup for a power plant.
Certain power plants include a combined cycle. The combined cycle may enable greater energy efficiencies, for example, by capturing energy that would have normally been lost through exhaust heat. Accordingly, a combined cycle may include systems that transform energy from exhaust heat into useful power. Fuel is supplied to a combustor of a gas turbine engine. The gas turbine engine, in turn, drives a generator for the production of electrical power or drives another type of load. Exhaust from the gas turbine engine may be supplied to a heat recovery system (e.g. to generate steam for a steam turbine). As such, the combined cycle power plants may be useful in converting fuel and exhaust heat into power. The startup time of a combined cycle power plant may be largely dependent on various sub components of the power plant such as gas turbines, heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), boiler, duct burners, and a steam turbine. Typically, the startup time up to a full speed no load operating condition of a respective gas turbine engine is fixed regardless of operational scenarios (e.g., ambient conditions, gas turbine operating conditions, etc.). This may limit the efficiency of the power plant.